Triumph Germany Supersport Racing is continuing a promising chapter with the signing of Luca Göttlicher. Following his guest appearances last year, the talented rider from Schwifting, Bavaria, will now become a permanent member of the team for the 2024 season.
It all started for him 12 years ago. Luca Göttlicher was four years old at the time. For his birthday, his dad gave him a Yamaha PW 50, which the little guy was free to ride to his heart’s content from then on. Racing was in his blood. In 2014, just 16 months after his first pocket bike race, the schoolboy was crowned the youngest-ever German champion in the ADAC Pocket Bike Cup. Soon, his path led to Spain. With seven podium finishes in eight races, Göttlicher became the 2016 Spanish Champion in the Copa Catalana Promovelocitat PromoCAT2-2T. He was the first German to win this Spanish junior class. Now 16 years old, he has motocross experience, knows his way around pit bikes, and has raced in the Northern Talent Cup. The certificates and trophies are piling up at home. Another highlight wasn’t made of precious metal, but was a very personal one: the invitation from MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez in December 2017 to the Allianz Junior Camp “Laps for Live 93.” Göttlicher was able to complete a multi-day motocross and dirt track training session with the Marquez brothers, Marc and Alex. And now the teenager is about to embark on his first full IDM Supersport season.
This isn’t entirely new territory for him. Göttlicher already completed a trial course with the Triumph Germany Supersport Racing Team back in 2023. As a guest rider with professional support from Triumph Emsland, he competed for the first time in the highly competitive IDM Supersport series at Assen in the Netherlands and later at the Hockenheim finale. “With 11th and 12th-place finishes in the races at Assen, Luca made an incredible debut,” says team boss Lothar Kraus, still enthusiastic, adding: “At the finale in Hockenheim, he once again demonstrated his immense talent with two ninth-place finishes, proving that we were on the right track with the development of the race bikes. For the 2024 season, we have developed and produced additional special parts that will take us even further forward.”
Veteran driver Kevin Wahr, whose signing was announced in December, is looking forward to working with Göttlicher. “I already got to know him better during his guest appearance at Hockenheim. He’s very friendly and open. Despite the age difference, we got along great and talked throughout the entire weekend. He’s learning quickly. I’m happy to be able to pass on my experience,” says the 34-year-old about the team rookie.
The first joint test will take place over Easter in Germany at the traditional “1,000 km Hockenheim” event. “However, the project behind the Triumph Germany Supersport Racing Team is significantly more extensive than just the competitive efforts of our regular riders,” says team owner and Triumph Emsland boss Denis Hertrampf, explaining: “We will equip other interested teams and riders with top-of-the-line gear and, upon request, also provide technical support. In addition, one of the race bikes to be used in 2023 is currently on display at the Triumph Germany booth at major motorcycle trade shows in Germany. The first interested Triumph dealers have already reached out to us and would like to attend the IDM events together with their customers. I’m very pleased that the Triumph dealers are so passionate about racing and want to make the most of this project.”